Hope Renewed
by FangZeronos
Summary: Set after the end of Dark Matter, roughly two years after the series finale of the show. Razer, following a voice on the Oan winds, finds Aya and returns to Oa where they are reunited with Hal Jordan and Kilowag.


He stood in a pair of pants staring out of the window, his world surrounded by green, despite the grey in his heart. He looked to the stars, seeing them twinkle in the night sky, green blurs coming back and forth across the blackness of space at random intervals, their inhabitants going out on or returning from missions. The streets below were alive with the sounds of chatter and laugher that to the young man sounded like a garbled mess. Thankful for the cool breeze on the Oan summers night, the young man reached for a Ring on his bedside table, sliding the Blue Ring onto his finger, the sounds of laughter and chatter becoming clearer. He could easily make out Hal Jordan and Kilowag now, but he did not wish to join in the celebrations of the Manhunters defeat. At least not when it had cost him someone so dear to his heart.

The former Red Lantern, his heart having been cooled of Rage by love, reached up and wiped a tear from his cheek. Every day since finding out that she could not be found, he had been depressed, but never losing hope, and in a fit of anger, had destroyed a fraction of the Citadel of the Guardians, resulting in a minor lock up. Despite the sadness in the young mans heart, he never did give up hope.

"Aya," he whispered, looking at a charcoal drawing he'd made of her a few days previous, staying up all night to work on it. The features were just right, not a single contour of her face out of place or misshapen, and her eyes-even on paper-seemed to light up. He had found some colored charcoal, retracing each line and adding blues, greens, whites, and a background of soft pink, remembering a conversation with Hal Jordan about how "Pink was known as the color of love," a trait that he had personally seen with the Star Sapphires.

A cool breeze whipped through his room, a lingering voice on the air. _Razer…_ the winds whispered, the young man chalking it up to hearing things. _Razer…please….I'm right here…_

"I wish this pain to go away….I wish now that I had never retracted my words to You. I…I regret it every single day, such as I have since the day I told you I did not love you," Razer whispered, holding the picture in his hands as he felt tears, warm and wet, rushing down his tribal markings. "I let my stupidity and fear get in the way, and it cost me the one person I have loved since my wifes death. And I was too stupid to see it until it was too late. You had to upload that virus into all of the Manhunters, causing your own destruction…" He set the picture back against the mirror, falling to his knees.

_My love, please do not cry. I am not truly destroyed. The virus that destroyed my body…sent my soul back into the Central Power Battery in the Interceptors main controls. You must find the ship, my love. I am alive._ the winds whispered.

"Aya…I will find you. I do not believe that you're dead. You are much to special to die…especially unto me are you too special. I love you so intensely that it hurts to miss you," Razer whispered, wiping his eyes before grabbing a shirt from the chair beside the desk, folding the picture gently and putting it in his pocket before opening the door. "I will find you."

_I know that you will, my Razer. I have the utmost confidence in you. I have never doubted that you would find me…_ the winds, Razer having found out later in life the winds were in fact Aya reaching out for him across the galaxy, whispered, falling silent once more.

"In burning day, in Raging night, with strong hearts full, our souls Unite. When all seems lost in the War of Light, look to the stars-for Hope burns bright," Razer whispered, his Blue Lantern Ring glowing and enveloping him as he flew off of Oa once again, his heart renewed with Hope that the woman he loved was still alive.

The pain was incredible. As the virus ripped through her system, she knew that this is what death was like. _"It is no less then what I am deserving of after my actions of late."_ she thought, the feel of his arms around her body keeping her memory from clouding. She admired, even in her death, the strength of his arms despite the gentleness he employed with her. She looked so much like his first love, for a time she did not know if he could come to accept her. But he had done so much more then that. He had accepted her, never given up on her, and-if he could help it-never missed a chance to save her. She owed her life to the man in her dreams, but she knew that she could never see him again. She was faced with decommissioning for the troubles she had caused as the Antimonitor, and she knew…she just **_KNEW_** that her decommissioning was the best thing for her.

"It is too easy of a death for my crimes," she whispered, a soft tear falling down her emerald cheek. She made no move to wipe it away, letting it fall. "I do not deserve the life given to me by the Science Director. I have betrayed those that cared and loved for me, causing countless deaths across this galaxy that I love. I am ashamed."

She buried her face in her arms, the young Green Lantern sobbing openly for the first time, not because of her actions, but because of her wasted opportunity with the man she loved. "Razer…" she whispered, getting out of her chair on the bridge before walking through the halls, her emerald fingers leaving trails in the dust that had collected on the walls. She came to his door, opening it and seeing the Red Lantern Battery inside. She smiled weakly as she remembered how she had created a different version of the Red Lantern Oath for him, one that wasn't as harsh.

"You lied to me, my love…you knew it did not work, but you said it anyway and told me that it did to see the smile on my face. I should have known that day, but I could not bring myself to take away the smile on my face from that moment," she whispered, sitting at the desk and putting her hand on the Battery, hearing Razer in her head.

_You think that you know what I am capable of? I could hurt you." Razer said, keeping his face turned from Aya._

"I know that you will not hurt me, Red Lantern Razer. I am not afraid of you," Aya remembered saying, looking at the man in front of her. She hadn't had a body for long, but she knew enough to know that Razer was trying to keep her safe.

"Aya, please. Do not pursue me. I need to be alone," Razer growled, retreating back into his room.

She snapped out of her dream, looking down at her hands. "You were wrong, Razer. You did not need to be alone," she whispered, heading out of his room before putting her hand on the door, a few stray tears falling down her cheeks. She hissed lightly, a pain in her arm. She looked down, seeing a large crack in her right arm.

"I must replace this," she said, turning towards the Cargo Bay. She opened the compartment that had her spare parts on it, and she grabbed her replacement arm before wishing her right arm away, the hardlight falling as the damaged sleeve fell, holding up the replacement before her arm reappeared.

She froze up, a darker memory tearing through her. It was when she had inhabited the Manhunter body, standing in this very same spot with Razer.

_"I was wrong. I do not love you. You are a machine, incapable of love or emotion. I can never love you," Razer growled. If Aya had thought about it at the moment, she would have noticed the pain in his voice as he spoke._

"Processing. Processing…processing. Processing…." Aya whispered over and over, a look of shock on her face as she tried to understand the meaning of his words.

A few hours later, she approached him again. "Razer. I wish to speak to you about our earlier conversation."

"Aya, right now, we have a job to do. As organics, during a time like this, we shut down functions that we do not need. I suggest you do the same," Razer said, not looking at the woman beside him.

A small click and a dying whir was heard, and Aya nodded. "Complete. Thank you for your insight, Red Lantern Razer," she said, turning and walking away. After the ship had been attacked by the Manhunters and Antimonitor, she had flown into the main engine room, taking all of the Green Energy into her body, leaving the ship powerless. She blasted out of the back hatch, her body a glowing green mass as she slammed hard into the Antimonitor, his head popping off and floating out into space.

"Aya!" Razer yelled, trying to find her in the smoke.

Soon, the smoke cleared out, leaving a darker colored Aya. Her smaller body was attached to the Antimonitor's, hooked up and glowing with black energy. "I reject your kind. I reject you all. The Manhunters are just following orders as a child would, and you see fit to destroy them. You will no longer destroy them. From now on, I am the Queen of the Manhunters, and they are _my_ Children," she said, her voice emotionless, though tinged with the tiniest bit of anger.

The two Green Lanterns and Razer barely made it back to the Interceptor before Aya's hand raised, the arm on the Antimonitor raising as well. A blast connected, sending the ship and it's inhabitants hurtling into space, Aya flying off with the Manhunters behind her…

Aya snapped out of her memories again, grabbing her spare parts and flinging them around, anger and hate blaring through her as she ripped locker doors off of the hinges, ripping the lockers themselves out before slamming her fists against the wall, denting it pretty deep. "AHHHHHHHH!" she screamed, falling to her knees as tears fell from her eyes.

"I should hate you for what you said to me…what your retraction of your love did to me…but I cannot. I cannot hate you. How can I hate the man I love because of something I did not understand?" she whispered, making no motion to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"Because I did not think of the consequences of my words," a voice whispered behind Aya. How he managed to sneak up on her, in her own ship, was beyond her. She turned, seeing Razer, but he looked different. Instead of Red, the man she loved was in Blue, the symbol of Hope riding high upon his chest. "Aya….I was wrong for my words that day…I did not see the consequences until it was too late."

Aya stood, approaching Razer before hauling her arm back and slapping him hard across the face, doing the same to the other side before beating her hands against his chest. She screamed curses at him that he did not even know she knew. After a few minutes of punching, biting, kicking, and hitting every inch of Razer she could manage, Aya fell to her knees in his arms, sobbing uncontrollably into his shirt. Razer sat down beside Aya, pulling her shaking form into his lap.

"I am so sorry, my love," Razer whispered, rubbing her arms softly. "I did not mean for what I said to hurt you as deeply as it did…"

"Bastard," Aya growled, trying to get away from Razer even though she had no strength left. "Why did you hurt me so?"

"Because I thought that what I said, by taking back my declaration of love, would save you from the fate that Alana had suffered. I thought, in a misguided sort of way, that by taking it back, I thought that I was saving you, but I ended up hurting you more then I could have ever imagined. And…for that…I almost caused the destruction and reformation of the universe," Razer whispered.

Aya nodded, remembering clearly the pain she had felt that day. "I had come to associate Love with Pain after that. I am so sorry for what happened that day, Razer. I…I am so sorry for my actions," she whispered.

"Aya, do not be sorry anymore. The past is in the past. And now…we will be able to have a good future. I refuse to let you go again. I will not let that happen. I love you too much to let it happen again."

Aya blinked, looking up at Razer. "What did you say?"

"I said…I love you," Razer said, taking Aya's hand in his. "And…now with Hope renewed, our love will grow, Aya. I won't let you go again, and I won't hurt you anymore. Not in the ways that I have in the past."

Aya nodded softly, wrapping her arms around Razers neck. "I trust you, my Razer," she whispered, leaning up and kissing him softly. The feel of his lips was different then she had imagined in her late night studies of kissing when nobody was awake on the ship. She removed the helmet of his Blue Lantern suit, the headpiece falling out of her hands as the energy that comprised it was separated from the whole. She moved her fingers lightly through his hair, pulling herself tightly into him. "I love you, Razer, and I will never let anything separate us again."

"I know, Aya. I know," Razer whispered, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist and pulling her into him again. "I love you, as well. And I am sorry that it took me this long to see it."

Aya smiled softly, wiping the last bits of tears from her cheeks before looking at her arm, seeing the time and date that it was. "We must limp the Interceptor back to Oa, Razer. It does not have much power, but it is enough to get us into Frontier Space," she said, looking at the Blue Lantern under her.

"Then we do what we must, Aya. If it means getting our….family back together in Hal Jordan and Kilowag, then we will do so," Razer said, having stumbled over "Family" one time.

"Family. I like the sound of that," Aya said, kissing Razer again before standing up, helping her love up to his feet. "We can wake Lanos and have him help us if we must."

"By Grotz, no," Razer chuckled, the sound making Aya turn and look at him. "Lanos…is too damn cheerful, and we'd be better off in the silence of the two of us."

"Duly noted," Aya said, giggling. She saw the quizzical look on Razer's face, tilting her head. "What is it?"

"I had never heard you giggle before."

"Nor have I heard you chuckle, I think the term is. As long as I have known you, my love, you have always shown the darkest emotions. I am glad that you are no longer controlled by Rage," Aya said, smiling as she led Razer towards the control room again.

"So am I, Aya. So am I," Razer said, smiling softly.

Two weeks later, the Interceptor and her two-person crew shakily landed the ship on Oa, Hal Jordan running out to find out the cause of the crash.

"Well, I'll be damned," the Green Lantern of Earth laughed, shaking Razer's hand. "You found the ship."

"I did," Razer said, smiling as he shook Hal's hand. "I also found someone else." He held his hand out, Aya taking it and stepping out of the back of the ship, her head down despite the joy in her heart. She did not want Hal to see the regrets in her eyes for her actions as the Ayamonitor, nor did she want to see the anger in his eyes for what she had done.

"Aya," Hal said, stepping up. The woman shook her head, standing behind Razer.

"No…I do not want to be considered a criminal, Hal Jordan. I…am scared for the first time in my life that…you are Sargent Kilowag will reject me for the troubles I have brought upon the Galaxy," Aya whispered, Razer rubbing her hand softly.

"Aya, look at me," Hal said, reaching out and putting his hand on her cheek, lifting her head up. He felt something wet against his palm, realizing she'd been crying silently since her departure from the ship. "I'm not angry. I'm not mad, and I would never reject the person I consider my family." He wiped Aya's eyes lightly, kissing her forehead. "Alright? Do you understand that?"

"I do, but the underlying truth is I should be decommissioned for what I have done."

"My love, we've been over this. What you did was because of an underlying program that Drusa left in your system after hijacking the Interceptor to go to Oa. Remember? We've decided that is the story. And when you collided with the Antimonitor-" Razer started.

"The Program activated, the Antimonitor's body being the trigger for the virus," Aya whispered, remembering the story she and Razer had concocted.

"Makes sense to me," Hal said, a thunk on the ground behind him alerting them to Kilowag.

"Well, I'll be a Vorg Beetle!" Kilowag laughed, lifting Aya up and hugging her tightly. "We missed you, kid. I knew you were still out there, and looks like Blue Britches did too."

Aya squeaked and laughed as Kilowag hugged her, returning the hug warmly. "I am sorry for my actions, Kilowag. What I had done was wrong, and I should have realized that in the beginning before I let things get out of hand by my wanting to reform the universe," she said, stumbling a bit when she was sat down on her feet again. She limped lightly back to Razer, favoring her right leg over her left more.

"Aya?" Razer asked, concern in his eyes.

"I just need to replace my parts, love. I discovered a crack in my right arm not long before your arrival on the Ship, and my left leg is damaged from an assault on the ship in a bout of anger," Aya said, a slight red tinge in her cheeks. "My apologies for my damage to your ship, Hal Jordan."

"Aya, we've been over this. It's just Hal," the Lantern in question chuckled, smiling softly. "Or if it makes you feel any better, you could even use "Papa". Cause in a way, that's what I feel like to you."

"Papa. I like that," Aya said, smiling softly as she hugged Hal. "Because you named me, mispronouncing "A.I." as Aya, giving me encouragement. In some ways, you are a father to me. You and Kilowag both."

"Papa Hal and Kilodad," Razer laughed, earning a glare from Kilowag. "Oh, shut up, big man. You know it's true."

"I know, but don't encourage it," Kilowag laughed, shaking his head.

As the two bickered, Aya giggled, wrapping her arms around her stomach as she watched, unused to having the feeling of a family. She admired each man in their own ways, but she longed for more. She limped back up into the ship, downloading into the computer before reuploading into newer and cleaner parts, taking a few rags and dust spray in hand before starting to clean.

As she did, she felt eyes watching her, always focused on her back. She jumped when she felt his arms around her waist, leaning back against Razer. "Do not do that, Razer," she giggled, the sound still being weird to her ears. "I could hurt you if you do that when I least expect it."

"I know, but it is fun to do that when you don't expect it rather then when you are," Razer snickered, kissing Aya's cheek. "Why did you leave? You were enjoying our bickering."

"I needed to replace my parts, my love. I needed to replace them and I wanted to start on cleaning the ship so that it was fit for travel again," Aya said, holding up her hands where the spray and rag were still situated. "I needed to do something to get my mind and processors off of the memories I keep replaying like a bad song."

Razer nodded, remembering a time when he needed to do something to keep his mind off of the bad that kept plaguing him no matter what he did. It was also the reasons he never slept much when they were together the first time. "I can understand better then you know, Aya," he said, kissing her softly. "But at least let me help with the cleaning. I need to do something other then sitting with Jordan and Kilowag."

"Papa does not mean any harm, Razer," Aya said, smiling at her name for Hal. "He just wants to make sure he has the best for me." She turned in his arms and put her hand on his cheek. "I know he doesn't mean anything by making you nervous. He's just…protective."

"Protective isn't really the word I'd use," Razer admitted, leaning into Aya's hand. "His questions, his tones, his words. It was more like an interrogation." He kissed Aya's palm, smiling against her hand. "I just want what's best for you, my love, even if that takes a long time to find."

"I know, Razer," Aya said, kissing him again and looking up into his blue-grey eyes. "But I already have the best in my life. And that's you."

He laid on his bed on a repopulated Volkrieg, looking up into the light. One hundred and ten years had passed since finding Aya and the Interceptor, and he had seen and done a lot during his tenure as a Blue Lantern. But now, as it was, he was a dying old man. The cool fingers of his long time wife, Aya, rested comfortably in his palm, the former Blue Lantern smiling softly.

"My Love, please do not cry for me," he whispered. "While I am to pass on into the next life, Death is but another great adventure, and it is one I've wanted to participate on for a long long time." He reached up weakly and wiped his wife's eyes, feeling her curl her cheek into his hand, still the same after almost eighty years.

"Razer...I don't want you to die. I can't live without you," Aya whispered, climbing up on their bed and burying her face against her husband's neck, feeling her entire body shake with sobs, clinging tightly to him. "Please don't leave me alone..."

Having been unable to produce children of their own, they resorted to adopting three children, gaining a large family with two grandchildren from their oldest. Each had become a Lantern in their own right as time went on, keeping the legacy alive with themselves. Ever since Tala, their oldset, and her husband Ardick had died defending Oa from a Yellow Lantern Invasion, their youngest son Tarlok and youngest daughter Andromeda-who had gone by Mea until she was in her mid-twenties-took off on their own adventures, Tarlok being one of the ones that tried to defend Oa as the first male Star Sapphire, and Andromeda being a Green Lantern like her mother. Their grandchildren by Tala, Razer and Aya, had become Blue and Green Lanterns respectively, just like their grandparents.

"Aya...you will never be truly alone," Razer whispered, looking down at his wife before tracing softly against her back as he had done almost every night since she had come back to him when he'd broken her out of the Antimonitor's control. "You are never truly alone, my love."

"Yes, I am. Our children have abandoned us, our oldest daughter died saving my home, and our grandchildren do not come home," Aya whispered. "When you pass on...I will be truly alone again. Lost in my grief..."

"Aya, please. Stop talking like this," Razer said, looking down at her. "A very long time ago...I was against finding someone else to love, thinking that Ilana was the only woman I could ever love. BUt you changed that. You change it every day. I have always loved you, and I know that my death will be hard. But...I am never truly gone from your mind or heart, my love. You will love again. I know this is to be true, because I have loved when I did not think I could. Because I love you."

"And I love you, Razer," Aya whispered, leaning up and kissing her husband softly, tears falling down her cheeks onto his tribal marks, ones she had put upon her own body a very long time ago.

Razer returned the kiss, wrapping his ancient and worn arms around his wife. "Stay with me," he whispered, fighting back his own tears for her sake. When he was certain he couldn't anymore, he felt them fall steadily down his cheeks.

"My love? What's wrong?" Aya asked.

"I regret...one thing."

"What is it?"

"I regret...even after all this time…the words I said that day," Razer said, feeling Aya's hands wiping his eyes lightly. "My words cost us so much time…time I cannot take back…"

"Please don't talk like this," Aya whispered. "I did not understand the tone in your voice, and if I had listened, I would have heard the pain in your voice. Upon my past revisiting the scenes, I now understand everything you did was because you were scared."

"I was," Razer said, sighing lightly. "But…my Aya. I will promise you one last thing, my love."

"Yes?"

"I'll give Tala, Ardick, Hal, and Kilowag all of your love. I will do that, and I will hug our children as tight as I can when they arrive at my side in the far future," Razer whispered, smiling softly at Aya.

"Thank you, my love. I do not think I can go through this again. My wish is that they will die fighting and defending what they love. Just as Tala and Ardick did. And I know that I will see you all again one day when I am unable to maintain repairs on this body," Aya said, wiping Razer's eyes.

Razer smiled one last time, closing his eyes. "I know," he whispered. "I love you, my Aya." His breathing evened out, Aya noting that he'd fallen asleep, and-content-she closed her eyes, activating her sleep mode.

When she woke the next morning, she didn't notice anything odd. She lightly moved Razer's shoulder, trying to wake him. "Razer? My love, please wake up," she whispered, kissing him lightly. When she did, she knew he was gone. She smiled softly, tears falling from her eyes. She wiped her eyes, knowing her husband of so long was finally at rest. She whispered a final four lines as she sat up. **"In fearful day, in Raging night, with strong hearts full, our souls ignite. When all seems lost in the War of Light, look to the Stars-for Hope Burns Bright."** She felt her circuits charge with power, the Blue Lantern Ring on her husbands finger dimming. "I love you, my Razer. I will see you again..."

She took him to the backyard of their house, digging out a grave before laying her husband inside, tears falling from her eyes onto his hands. She covered him with the moved mounds of earth she'd dug up, carving a marking into the tree in the backyard. She sighed softly, taking Razers Blue Lantern Battery and hooking it to her leg, her own Green Battery-a gift from Kilowag-in her hand before she flew up into space, leaving Volkrieg behind in search of her next adventure.


End file.
